Erlangen, Germany

Michael Weyand

Department of Cardiоsurgery

Specialized in: cardiosurgery

About the department keyboard_arrow_down

Cardiac Surgery Clinic at Erlangen University Clinic performs about 1,600 surgeries on the heart and vessels close to it annually, including approximately 1,100 surgeries using a heart-lung machine, performed in the open heart. The operational capacity includes 3 operating rooms at Erlangen University Clinic. Two surgical teams are ready to conduct emergency surgeries round-the-clock. As for heart surgery, the cardiac surgery clinic is recommended by the top list of hospitals, compiled by FOCUS.

Patient care is carried out in close cooperation with other clinics and departments of Erlangen University Clinic.

The range of cardiac surgery services includes the following:

Coronary artery bypass grafting

Replacement of heart valves or heart valve reconstruction

Neonatal and pediatric cardiac surgery

Heart transplant

Implantation of an artificial heart

Minimally invasive cardiac surgery

Surgery for heart failure

Implantation of pacemakers and defibrillators

Heart surgeries are performed using the latest technology and all the austerity measures for donated blood. The patient’s own blood taken prior to surgery is also used as far as possible. Special drugs to save the blood (e.g., tranexamic acid) are used too. After surgery, the patient's blood lost from the wound is infused back to the patient using a special filter, so that about half of all surgeries can be performed without donor blood infusion. The patient receives treatment in close cooperation with the clinics of internal medicine, pediatrics and anesthesiology and neighboring cardiology-oriented hospitals and rehabilitation clinics. The clinic tends to make the hospitalization as short as possible, and limit the same to the required medical measures. As a rule, 10 to 14 days after cardiac surgery, the patient is discharged home or transferred to a hospital near his/her home.